Lesson Plan
by stikjok
Summary: The Nevernever brings out the best in Wizards. Rating is for language.


**_I don't own any of these _****__characters. I just like to see what they can do.__**

_Harry_

I let the fireball roll off of my fingers and it speed off into the dark, spitting sparks and red ash. As soon as it left contact with my hand, I rolled to my right and ran after it three paces, then hunkered down, extending my shield bracelet in that direction and focused on a half dome of tinted safety. I controlled my breathing, listening for it, and saw a flash of semi-charged air go past me through the space where I had just been standing. The edge of the blast caught my shield on that side and it flared briefly, jazzing the night with some mild blue fluorescent.

I withdrew all but a whisper of the power in the shield, letting the light very slowly die back as I bailed out the other side of the shield, running again, this time in a halfbacks' dodge-the-tackler open field lope, casting a silence on my boots at the same time. The darkness hid the diagonal vector I was taking and I was congratulating myself when I kicked something and my whole lower half was outlined in a sick green glow that clung to my pants like malicious graffiti. I cursed softly under my breath, then grew a quarter inch of ice from my waist down. I balled up my fist and smashed the cold new skin off of my legs, the glow going with it, and found the edge of the mushroom patch that had given away my position.

My opponent now presumedly had a sight and hearing fix on my location. I don't ordinarily pass out illusions, but sparring with Molly had sharpened my lowly talent. I spun one of myself, complete with glowing pants, running full tilt to the left, slightly away from where I thought the target to be, and started creeping the correct direction, avoiding the giveaway patch of green spores and hugging the ground.

I didn't belly crawl, that would have made too much noise. I moved monkey fashion, hands and feet carefully finding their way and me listening again for the other mans' tell. It came in the form of a murmured word and some movement against the background stars. At this point I was less than ten feet from his unprotected back. I eased my two hand weapons out of my duster pockets while the man played pointy stick tag with the sight of ol' green pants me.

_Harry_

"Accio Wand!" I screamed it out of frustration as soon as I felt the end touch the base of my skull. The wood tore a gash through my skin as it leapt into my left hand and I whirled behind me just as I became aware of a different touch of hard metal in my kidney and a whisper in my ear. "Bang."

I hate losing. All the wankers and evil gits that have hounded me throughout my life have found that out. I'm an Auror because of it. And this bloody Yank had beaten my arse five times out of five! "Fuck fuck fuck bloody shitarse owlpiss!" He just stood there smiling, the pentacle on his chest now shining brightly in the forest gloom.

"Dresden, I agreed to this if we played by my worlds rules half the time. None of the pissers I've been sent after have pulled a bloody piece on me. I work in England, not the land of 'everybody deserves a gun' like you come from."

Dresden sat down on a low stump and pulled out a snickers from an inside pocket. He unwrapped it, broke it in half and threw one of the pieces to me underhanded. I grinned in spite of myself and stood across from him. Frankly, it was a relief to not look so far up into his face. "What have you learned, oh Padawan? What is the point to sparring if not to see if your skills and tools will save you when you're in the shit? I can't come to your world, you're barred from mine; the only place we can meet is this part of the Nevernever. That means when you're facing the bad stuff I can't be there. You'll only have this voice in your head saying, 'Should have listened, man. Should have listened.' "

I chuffed at him and took a bite. "I'm not blinkered, Dresden. We just have different ways of doing things. In my world Wizards have their ways, and Muggles have theirs. Any Auror who tried a dodgy trick like that would…" I rubbed my fresh scratch mindlessly. "Well, I don't know what the Ministry would do, mate. I haven't had the job very long."

Dresden was silent for a moment as well. Then his face turned up to me and he looked me dead in the nose, like always. I wonder why he does that.

_Harry_

"People like to say that there's only one rule in a fight. And that's to win it. These people have never really been down in it. Your life can hang on an honorable defeat, or a despicable victory. Your enemy may be holding cards that you can't call him on or bluff him through. You have to use your mind and think, Harry. Use any weapons you can carry. Play ju-jitsu with his plans. You people like to think that those wands are hammers and every problem is a nail."

"You've told me of your world, and it's practically identical with mine. Even our kinds of magic are so similar as to make no difference. Focused Will. Practiced, precise, proficient and pure. Know it, see it, seize it, make it real. I honestly think that if we come from parallel worlds, they didn't separate that long ago. So when I tell you that you can adopt my ways and find more ways to win, I think you should listen. And losing while sparring a Warden from another world should prove something to you."

The skinny young man with my name chewed slowly. I didn't know if he craved a bit of sugar rush after throwing around magic like I did, but it was a safe bet.

I continued. "All I'm saying for now is you should open your mind and hedge your bets, if you'll allow a mixed metaphor. Carry more tools than a great big hammer. Come up with more plans than the first one that you think of. This comes from a fool that has made that mistake too often."

I keep wanting to call him Little Harry, down deep where I live, but I know that he's not. He's been in a different pile of shit than me, but it all smells the same. And I know just what kind of strength it takes to climb out of it on top.

Potter sighed and sat down across from me. "Ok, mate. I've got too many who want me to come home alive to act daft. How exactly did you make that shield bracelet? And… I'll think about the gun."


End file.
